One of the best dip-buying opportunities in biotech stocks to buy was in Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX).
After hitting a high of $99.41, VKTX dipped back to about $60.30. All because of obesity data from a competitor. But that pullback wouldn’t last long. In fact, by March 26, the stock soared more than $12 a share on promising new weight loss data on its oral weight loss treatment.
Plus, there was news Viking now plans to start Phase 2 trials of its once-a-day weight loss pill later this year. As noted by CNBC, “The phase one trial for the pill followed more than 40 patients with obesity for around a month. Those people took different dose sizes of the drug or received a placebo. Viking said patients who received the pill once a day lost up to 5.3% of their weight on average, or up to 3.3% more than those who took a placebo, at 28 days.”
Even better, Viking Therapeutics could easily see even more upside. Its injectable and oral treatment trials continue to show blockbuster potential. But it’s not just VKTX we like on dips. Here are three biotech stocks to buy today.
Amgen (AMGN)
Let’s start out with Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN), a $151 billion biopharma with plenty of near-term upside potential. After plummeting from about $325 to a recent low of $270, the AMGN stock is just starting to pivot higher. From its last traded price of $281.77, I’d like to see it refill its bearish gap around $325 again near term.
Helping, the company wants to jump into the obesity drug boom.
As noted by CNBC, AMGN is testing an injectable that helps people lose weight differently from current injections from Eli Lilly, for example. Amgen’s treatment, MariTide, is being tested as a once-a-month or even less frequent injectable.
Better, Goldman Sachs just upgraded the stock to a Conviction Buy with a $350 target. “The analyst believes Amgen is well positioned to add multi-billion-dollar opportunities to its portfolio through a robust pipeline of drugs in development — many of which have key clinical trial read-outs in 2024,” as noted by TheFly.com.
Pyxis Oncology (PYXS)
Another one of the top biotech stocks to buy on a dip is Pyxis Oncology (NASDAQ:PYXS).
After rallying from a low of about $1.50 to $6.79, the stock slipped to $3.83 in recent days. However, we expect for the biotech that creates antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) drugs to trade significantly higher from its current price.
For one, remember, according to Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) CEO Albert Bourla, “Antibody-drug conjugates have become the hottest area of oncology.” Two, the company is actively developing PYX-201 for the potential treatment of relapsed or refractory solid tumors. So far, the treatment has been well-tolerated with no significant evidence of toxicities, according to the company.
Three, the company recently posted an EPS loss of $1.85 a share, which beat by 10 cents. Plus, it has about $120.8 million in cash on hand at the moment. And four, analysts over at H.C. Wainwright just raised their price target to $7 on PYXS, with a buy rating.
As noted by TheFly.com, “The analyst increased the peak penetration rates for PYX-201 to 18% from 15% for all indications based on the “differentiated” safety profile and adjusted operational expenses in 2024 and beyond.”
SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI)
We can also look at the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSEARCA:XBI), which recently dipped to $92.69.
What’s nice about the XBI exchange-traded fund is that we can diversify with 135 different holdings at less than $95 a share. In fact, with an expense ratio of just 0.35%, the XBI ETF holds numerous hot biotech stocks. Among them are Moderna(NASDAQ:MRNA), Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL), Exact Sciences (NASDAQ:EXAS), Amgen, and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY).
While the ETF already ran from about $65 to its current price of $92.69, there’s still plenty of near-term upside remaining. With new biotech innovation, demand for better treatment, pharmaceutical companies strengthening pipelines and a resurgence of M&A, biotech could get explosive. And if that’s the case, you want to be well-diversified for max exposure.
If we were to buy 100 shares of just one of its holdings — let’s say ALNY — it would cost us about $15,200. Again, just for that one stock. Meanwhile, we can own 100 shares of XBI for about $9,300 and gain exposure to 145 big biotech names.
On the date of publication, Ian Cooper did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
